May 12, 2025 06:02 AM IST

The action film Mohra proved to be a game changer for Suniel Shetty. Originally, late actor Divya Bharti had been cast opposite Suniel, but following her sudden death, Raveena Tandon stepped into the lead role. In a recent interview with Radio Nasha, Suniel recalled working with Divya and heaped praise on her fearless spirit. (Also Read: Suniel Shetty reacts to Anil Kapoor calling him, Akshay Kumar ‘50% waale heroes’ in Mohra: ‘Bura toh lagta hi hai’)

Suniel remembered his time on set with Divya at the Pahalgam jail location: “We shot at Pahalgam jail, but that girl was fearless. There were real convicts in the jail, yet she was absolutely fearless. Again, she was full of life and masti. Toh kahin na kahin Rajiv ko kaise hum sata sakte hain, Shabeer ko hum kaise sata sakte hain, humari planning wohi rehti thi (So, in one way or another, figuring out how to tease Rajiv and Shabeer—that was always our plan), how we could make people laugh and lighten the atmosphere. It was an absolute dream to work with her.”

For the unversed, Suniel made his Bollywood debut in Balwaan, which also featured Divya Bharti. Mohra, directed by Rajiv Rai, went on to become a huge box-office success, starring Akshay Kumar, Naseeruddin Shah and Raveena Tandon in principal roles, with Poonam Jhawer, Raza Murad, Paresh Rawal, Gulshan Grover and Sadashiv Amrapurkar in key supporting parts.

Divya Bharti was among the highest-paid Indian actresses of her time. She has featured in several successful films like Bobbili Raja, Rowdy Alludu, Shola Aur Shabnam, Deewana and others. She was just 19 when she tragically fell from the balcony of her fifth-floor apartment in Versova, Andheri West, Bombay, and later died at Cooper Hospital.

Suniel will next be seen in the historical action film Kesari Veer, which marks Sooraj Pancholi’s comeback to the big screen and also stars Vivek Oberoi and Akanksha Sharma. The film is scheduled for release in cinemas on 23 May.